BATON ROUGE — The preseason honors continue to roll in for LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson as the junior was named to the watch list for the 2010 Jim Thorpe Award, which is presented to college football’s best defensive back, it was announced on Monday.
Peterson, a native of Pompano Beach, Fla., is one of six Southeastern Conference players on the list, joining Florida’s Janoris Jenkins and Will Hill, Mark Barron of Alabama, Stephon Gilmore of South Carolina and Georgia’s Brandon Boykin.
Peterson, a preseason first-team All-SEC recipient, is also on the watch lists for the Lott Trophy and Nagurski Trophy. He is a unanimous selection to every preseason publication’s All-America team.
Peterson led all SEC cornerbacks with 13 passes defended last season while recording 52 tackles, including 43 solo stops. He also scored two touchdowns.
The Thorpe Award is one of college football’s most sought after and prestigious awards. It is named after history’s greatest all-around athlete, a man who excelled as a running back, passer and kicker on offense, but also was an awesome defensive back. Recognized in the Pro Football Hall of Fame simply as “The Legend”, Thorpe also played professional baseball and won Olympic gold medals in the decathlon and pentathlon.
A “Screening Committee” of Jim Thorpe Association members follows these players throughout the season, watching games and researching information sources to grade Thorpe Award candidates on the basis of performance on the field, athletic ability and character. The committee meets on the first Monday in November to narrow the field to 10 or 12 semi-finalists.
The committee meets again on the Monday before Thanksgiving to select the three finalists. The names of these finalists are submitted to a national panel of about 50 sports writers, sportscasters, coaches and former players who vote to determine the winner. The three finalists are invited to the ESPN College Football Awards Show (Dec. 9 at 6 p.m. CT), and the winner is announced during the show. The award will be presented on Feb. 7, 2011, in Oklahoma City.
Safety Eric Berry of Tennessee won the 2009 award.
Other watch lists:
Lott Trophy, April 21 (CB Patrick Peterson, LB Kelvin Sheppard)
Bronko Nagurski Trophy, June 21 (CB Patrick Peterson, LB Kelvin Sheppard)
Outland Trophy, June 21 (DT Drake Nevis)
Davey O’Brien Award, July 14
Jim Thorpe Award, Aug. 2 (CB Patrick Peterson)
Bednarik Award Aug. 9
Maxwell Award, Aug. 9
Walter Camp Award, Aug. 9
Biletnikoff Award, Aug. 10
Ray Guy Award, Aug. 11
Butkus Award, Aug. 16
Mackey Award, Aug. 16
Lou Groza Award, Aug. 20
Rotary Lombardi Award, Aug. 20
Doak Walker Award, Aug. 23
Rimington Trophy, Aug. 27
2010 Jim Thorpe Award Watch List
Prince Amukamara, CB, Nebraska
Mark Barron, S, Alabama
Brandon Boykin, CB, Georgia
Curtis Brown, CB, Texas
Kendric Burney, CB, North Carolina
Brandon Burton, CB, Utah
Rashad Carmichael, CB, Virginia Tech
Quinton Carter, S, Oklahoma
Chimdi Chekwa, CB, Ohio State
Don Decicco, S, Pittsburgh
Ras-I Dowling, CB, Virginia
Blake Gideon, S, Texas
Stephen Gilmore, CB, South Carolina
Brandon Harris, CB, Miami
Will Hill, S, Florida
Jermale Hines, S, Ohio State
Brandon Hogan, CB, West Virginia
Davon House, CB, New Mexico State
Duke Ihenacho, S, San Jose State
Jaiquwn Jarrett, S, Temple
Janoris Jenkins, CB, Florida
Jeron Johnson, S, Boise State
Tejay Johnson, S, TCU
Shiloh Keo, S, Idaho
Brian Lainhart, S, Kent State
DeAndre McDaniel, S, Clemson
Rahim Moore, S, UCLA
Johnny Patrick, CB, Louisville
Patrick Peterson, CB, LSU
Tyler Sash, S, Iowa
Robert Sands, S, West Virginia
Jimmy Smith, CB, Colorado
Trevin Wade, CB, Arizona
Deunta Williams, S, North Carolina
Aaron Williams, CB, Texas